FEAST OF SAINT MATTHIAS, APOSTLE AND MARYR AND SAINT MICHAEL GARICOITS, PRIEST ~ MAY 14TH: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle and Martyr and Saint Michael Garicoits, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, we particularly pray for those suffering from terminal diseases. On this feast day we pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May the gentle souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen🙏🏽
SAINT MATTHIAS, APOSTLE AND MARTYR: St. Matthias the Apostle (1st c.) whose name means “gift of God”, followed Jesus during His entire earthly ministry and was one of His 72 disciples sent out to preach the good news. St. Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after his betrayal of Christ and subsequent suicide. For when there was question of electing an Apostle to take the place of the apostate Judas, St. Peter spoke: “Of these men who have been in our company all the time that the Lord Jesus moved among us, from John’s baptism until the day that He was taken up from us, one must become a witness with us of His Resurrection” (Acts 1:21). Two men were proposed: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus and Matthias, and the latter was chosen by lot. About one hundred and twenty persons were present at this election. According to an ancient tradition handed down by Clement of Alexandria and confirmed by Eusebius and St. Jerome, St. Matthias was one of the seventy-two disciples of our Lord. It was after this occurrence that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, among whom St. Matthias was then numbered.
St. Matthias was with the Lord since His Baptism by John the Baptist, and was “a witness to Christ’s Resurrection,” according to St. Peter in Acts. He remained with Jesus until His Ascension. After Christ’s Ascension into heaven, St. Matthias devoted himself to preaching Christianity among the pagans, some of them barbarians and cannibals, all over Judea, Cappadocia, Jerusalem, the shores of the Caspian Sea (in modern day Turkey) and Ethiopia for over 30 years. Many miracles are ascribed to him as the pagans sought to kill him: that he was unharmed after being forced to drink poison, that he once hid by becoming invisible, and that the earth opened up and swallowed his attackers. St. Matthias also preached the need for mortification of the flesh as an aid to growth in holiness. Clement of Alexandria writes that St. Matthias was remarkable for inculcating the necessity of mortifying the flesh with its irregular passions and desires. Eventually, at God’s appointed time, he was martyred for the cause of Christ, though there are conflicting traditions as to exactly where and how. He is said to have met his death by crucifixion in Colchis or by stoning in Jerusalem. St. Matthias is the Patron Saint of carpenters, tailors, and reformed alcoholics, invoked for assistance against Alcoholism, smallpox, diocese of Gary; Indiana; diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Montana.
PRAYER: O God, who assigned Saint Matthias a place in the college of Apostles, grant us, through his intercession, that, rejoicing at how your love has been allotted to us, we may merit to be numbered among the elect. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever… Amen🙏🏽
SAINT MICHAEL GARICOITS, PRIEST: St. Michael Garicoïts (1797- 1863), an Apostle of the Love of God” Priest was a French Basque Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram. He combated Jansenism in his parish due to the threat that it posed to the faith. Defender of the Faith, Confessor, Teacher, Preacher, ardent devotee of the Holy Eucharist and the Sacred Heart. St. Michael was born on April 15, 1797 in Saint Just- Ibarre, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France and the eldest son of Arnold and Gratianne Garicoits. They were poor and Michael was hired out as a shepherd boy to a farmer. His desire to become a priest always met with “No, we are too poor” by his parents, but his grandmother talked the matter over with the parish priest. Through his efforts St. Michael earned his expenses for college by working after school hours for the clergy and in the bishop’s kitchen. In December of 1823 he was ordained a Priest in Bayonne
Cathedral by Bishop d’Astros. Fr. Michael’s first assignment was at Cambo where he remained two years. He did much to revive religion there, combat Jansenism by the custom of frequent communion as well as by introducing Sacred Heart devotions.
Fr. Michael Garicoits’ next call was to a professorship in the senior seminary for priests at Betharram, and then to be superior. In 1838, Father Garicoits drew up a constitution largely based on that of the sons of St. Ignatius. Like them, his missionaries were to take life vows and to spread far and wide. Associates gathered round him at Betharram, and all seemed promising, when the bishop disapproved of his idea of founding a new congregation. Not till 1852 was the community allowed to choose its own superior, and even then it was tied down by regulations which hampered its activity. Father Garicoits submitted, but with a heavy heart. He died on Ascension day, May 14, 1863 in Lestelle-Bétharram, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. Fourteen years later the Society of Priests of the Sacred Heart of Betharram was approved by the Holy See on the lines the founder had laid down. St. Michael Garicoits, who was at one time spiritual director of the Basque house of the Daughters of the Cross at Igon, received much encouragement in his foundation from St. Elizabeth Bichier des Ages, and he was all his life a close friend of her congregation in the Basque country. Both of them were canonized in the year 1947. St. Michael was Canonized on July 6, 1947, Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Pius XII. He’s Patron Saint of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram and Teachers. His feast day is May 14th.
Saint Michael Garicoits, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
PRAYER: Loving Saint Michael Garicoits, who gave your life in loving service and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. May your example of humility and obedience guide us to deeper trust in God’s will. Intercede for all those burdened by illness or sorrow, that they may experience the mercy and consolation of Christ. Amen.🙏🏽